~ On stories, old and new

Monthly Archives: July 2012

I’ve been reading a lot lately, and posting a little less. This is mainly because my roommate has sorted out a stack of books to sell off, and she has been kind enough to let me raid them first to see if there are ones that I want to read. And there were. Several.

Into the Forest, by Jean Hegland, was one of the ones I’ve read lately. It is not really a tale about the breakdown of society in the U.S., but more about how two young sisters survive after all the modern conveniences, entertainments, and safeties are gradually lost to them. The reason for the breakdown is a little unclear, but that seems very in keeping with the breakdown in communication systems. The limited understanding of the ‘why’ seems to fit well with the characters and how focused they are on their own personal goals for the future while the societal structures are starting to crumble.

The writing is lush with detail. Everything seemed to be told in a way that seems very native to how I normally think: rather than a strict chronological organization, the tale was told with current events sparking rememberance, and how such things influenced current words and actions. Everything about the book seemed very organic and natural, which fit well with the themes of the book. I do recognize that some readers have problems with stories that are told in this nonlinear fashion, so if you are one of them, you may not care for this book very much. I enjoyed it though.

I received a warning from my roommate about this book and something it contains, and I think it distracted me a little bit from the journey through the book. There were many parts in the book where I was confused because what was happening didn’t seem to fit with where I had the expectation that it would head from what my roommate said. I think the book would be better if I hadn’t had that particular expectation set up as a distraction, but at the same time I think it is important to share for potential readers who are really sensitive to certain topics coming up in books. In the interest of not giving spoilers for everyone, I will hide the info behind a cut. Continue reading →

As part of the research going into the Tuatha Dé novels, I have been scouring for the gods in various mythologies. The Greeks in particular amaze me. There are gods for absolutely everything it seems. There are gods for every finger, a god for door-hinges and a different god for the threshold of a door. There is a god for effeminate men, a malevolent spirit that smashes pottery (which is not to be confused with the spirit that shatters pottery, or the spirit that destroys pottery), a goddess of morning dew, and one who grants the baby his or her first cry, and several gods that must be invoked before felling a tree. Keeping track of all the gods to invoke for every activity in the day must have been complicated.

Still, I think my favorite god is still Janus, the two-headed god of doors, presiding over beginnings and endings. I like the duality of him. I like the understanding that leaving one room is entering another, the acknowledgement that each ending begins something else.

I’ve amazed a lot of people over time with the vividness that I recall dreams, and have standing orders from some friends to share them, so I figured I would post a few of them here too. Last night I had a dream that I was keeping a commitment to write 15 pages a day. All of it was handwritten, and I was collecting them in a three-ring binder. I was writing my latest entry, which was a review of an episode of old Matlock. The TV series in my dream, though, didn’t have much resemblance to the actual TV show. One of the most important features of the show was the guest stars.

I was reviewing one of the two episodes of Matlock where Jackie Chan was guest starring as a local superhero. He and Matlock and Matlock’s sidekick were trying to rescue a woman who was being held hostage in a high school. The hallways were lined with red and blue lockers in alternating colors. Continue reading →

I watched Brave for a second time, and found it much more enjoyable the second time after knowing what the scope of the movie was. There are some very enjoyable scenes that I was glad to see a second time and that I know I will enjoy seeing many more times to come. It still won’t be my favorite princess movie of all times, but it is one that I can say that if I had kids to show it to, I would bring them to the theater & pick it up on DVD knowing that that they will have to watch it plenty of times before I would superannoyed when they decide they want to watch it for the zillionth time. I view that as a pretty good test of the endurance of children’s films.